Pressure container with rigid band



July 14, 196 J. w. EVERETT PRESSURE CONTAINER WITH RIGID BAND Filed June 25, 1962 IN VENTOR United States Patent 3,140,802 PRESSURE CONTAINER WITH RIGID BAND John W. Everett, 3748 Beech Ave., Baltimore 11, Md. Filed June 25, 1962, Ser. No. 204,850 6 Claims. (U. ZZZ-386.5)

The present invention relates to an improved disposable pressure container and is a continuation in part of application Serial Number 35,801, dated June 13, 1960, now Patent No. 3,070,265.

The invention has to do with the type of pressure container in which the material carried by the container is maintained in a separate compartment from the medium used in creating pressure in the container for expelling the material. The container is especially de signed for use with a pressure-producing, evaporating liquid, such as Freon, a trade name for a product made and distributed by E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company of Wilmington, Delaware, but does not exclude the use of other liquids of similar nature, and pressure media such as nitrogen gas, etc. The advantage of a liquid pressure medium is that it can be compounded to evaporate at relatively low pressures and at a desired pressure at a specific temperature for particular products which makes it ideal for pressure containers in that the pressure may be kept relatively constant.

The present container is constructed with a rigid outer portion and a combination rigid and flexible bag carried within the outer rigid portion made preferably from an organic plastic substance and one whose walls are, for all practical purposes, impervious to the passage of the gas used in expelling the product. Such materials are now available several being in the form of polyethylene, terephthalate, polypropylene, etc. While some of these materials have the advantage of being flexible and impervious to gas, they have very little elasticity, and, therefore, the use of such a bag made of this material must be so constructed and incorporated within the rigid outer container member as to prevent, as much as possible, any stretching of the bag in any of its positions within the container.

There are various types of known pressure containers having the material carried in a bag. However, the present invention provides a container of this class having a controlled collapsing bag that will not island (that is, choke off a portion of the material in the bag) and will, at the same time, afford a greater capacity for material carried by the container than is possible at the present time with similar containers.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a container having the separate air-tight compartment for the material to be dispensed and a second separate airtight compartment for the medium used as the expelling agent, in which the compartments are separated by a bag having a portion of its side wall rigid and a portion of its side wall flexible.

Another obiect of the invention is to provide an outer rigid hermetically healed container including a combination rigid and flexible bag, the bag having an open end and a rigid, or non-flexible, portion adjacent its open end adapted to be press fitted to the inside surface of the rigid outer body or side wall of the container, and a flexible side wall portion and a closed end movable longitudinally of and relative to the container, the open end being secured to the body of the container for dividing the same into two air-tight compartments whose sizes vary inversely to each other as the flexible bag is moved longitudinally of the container.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved means for fixing the open end of the bag to the container body.

While several of the objects of the invention have been 3,140,8fi2 Patented July 14, 1964 mentioned, other objects together with their uses and advantages will become more apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed, which consists of its novel construction and arrangement shown in the preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings and described in the following specifications, and specifically defined in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary sectional view of the container and the bag, showing the bag in its downward position and in position to receive a material to be dispensed.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of a modified form of container.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view of the improved bag partly in elevation and partly in section.

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary sectional exploded view of a further modified form of the container.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary sectional assembled view on a slightly smaller scale of the form of container shown in FIGURE 4.

In describing the invention, like numerals are used to designate like and similar parts throughout the several views.

The container outer wall may be of metal, or of organic plastic material, which must be of such rigidity as to hold its form under the particular pressure to be used therein, and, therefore, is referred to as rigid.

Referring in particular to FIGURE 1, the outer portion of the container C is constructed of a suitable metal having a side portion 10, a bottom 12 and a top portion 14. The top portion 14 is provided with a conventional opening '(not shown) and in this opening is a closure 16 carrying a valve mechanism which when operated will provide a valved opening through the closure 16 for dispensing the material carried in the container.

The side wall, or body, 10 of the container is shown having an outwardly extended portion 10' for receiving a rigid band 18 carried by the bag B. The band 18 may be formed as part of the bag itself which will hereinafter be more fully described. The bottom 12 of the outer container is hermetically attached to the bottom of the side wall 10 by a conventional double seam 20. The bottom is provided with a soft pliable plug 21 through which the liquid expellent may be placed in the container.

The rigid band 18 has extending downwardly from the lower edge thereof a flexible side wall 18 and a closed end 18" which is also flexible. The center section of the closed end 18 of the bag may be formed to fit about the opening in the upper end of the container and in the end of closure 16. The band 18 is designed to closely fit the side wall of container. In FIGURE 1, the band 18 is shown resting in an off-set portion 10' of the container body, and in FIGURE 2 the band 18 is held to the side of the container by a pressed fit with an adhesive. While the band in FIGURE 1 is shown resting on the offset at 10, it also may be glued in the recess to increase its hold ing power and to prevent leakage where leakage may become a real factor.

The bag is shown in its downward position in full lines. Adjacent the bottom of the container there is provided a cradle 24 for supporting the closed end of the bag when the bag is extended toward the bottom of the container and filled with material to support the weight of the material and keep the closed end of the bag in shape so that it will fit into the top portion when in reversed position in expelling the material as shown by dotted lines 18 in FIGURE 1 and to protect the bag from damage in rough handling. The cradle may be supported in the container in any conventional manner. It is, in the present illustration, shown supported by a skirt 24'. This skirt may be conveniently replaced by legs (not shown), or it may be attached to the side of the container body (not shown). The cradle is provided with openings, such as shown at 24", to allow the gas of the expelling medium ready access to the outer surface of the bag.

The modified form of container shown in FIGURE 2 is constructed of an organic plastic outer portion 30. The band 18 of the bag is attached to the side wall by an adhesive or by heat sealing. The body of the container 30 is not extended as shown at 10 in FIGURE 1. The bottom 31 of the container is secured to the lower end of the body portion by any convenient means and is shown overlapping the side wall at 31 and 31" where it may be secured by an adhesive, or by heat sealing. The bottom 31 may also have a pliable plug 21, as shown in FIGURE 1, through which the liquid expellent may be injected into the bottom of the container. This particular form of the container is also provided with a cradle 24 for supporting the closed end of the bag for the purpose previously described for the bag in FIGURE 1.

It may in some cases be preferable to form the bottom of the container integral with the lower end of the body portion of the container such as shown in FIGURES 4 and 5', particularly if the container is constructed of plastic. However, the same structure may also be used with metal.

In FIGURE 4 there is provided a container having a divided side wall 40' and 41. The part 40 is provided with an outwardly ofi-set portion 40' and the part 41 is pro vide'd with an outwardly ofiE-set portion 41'. The portions 40 and 41' are adapted to telescope each other as shown in FIGURE 5. The off-set of the telescoping portion may be of such dimensions as to provide a recess as to receive the band 18 of the bag (see FIGURE 5). While this modification does not necessarily have a removable bottom, it also carries the cradle 24 which may be inserted prior to joining the side sections 40 and 41. The assembled off-set portions and the band 18 may all be secured together by an adhesive and/or heat sealing.

Regardless of the specific construction of the container itself, when assembled, the principal parts all operate in substantially the same manner.

In assembling the form shown in FIGURES l and 2, the bag B is inserted into the body from the bottom to its proper location, then the cradle 24 is inserted after which sufiicient air in the bottom of the container is exhausted to cause the closed end 18" of the bag to engage the upper surface of the cradle 24, and the bottom 12 is applied and sealed to the lower end of the body portion 10 or 30 as the case may be. The container is now ready to receive the material to be dispensed. The material is placed into the container through the opening in the top and the cover 16 is sealed into the opening. Freon, or other similar expandable fluid, is then placed into the container below the closed end of the bag, which may be done with a hollow needle extending through the pliable plug 21. The expellent is injected into the container at a very low temperature and when the temperature begins to rise to the temperature of the container, the expellent will vaporize into a gas and set up a pressure in the container between the bottom 24 of the container and the outer surface of the bag, the gas going through the openings 24" and around the cradle into contact with the bag. When the valve stopping the passage of the material at the top of the container is released, material will then be forced out of the passage by the pressure under the bag causing the bag to collapse at which time more of the liquid expellent will be evaporated supplying more gas at the same pressure to the lower part of the container to fill the space vacated by the collapsing bag. While the above is one way to assemble the container, the order in the steps of assembly may be altered or rearranged if better suited to the particular operation.

The invention is not to be limited to the exact arrangement of parts shown in the accompanying drawings or described in the specification as various changes in the details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention; only in so far as the invention has been particularly pointed out in the dependent claims is the same to be limited.

I claim:

1. An internal pressure container for dispensing mate rials in combination, an outer vertical rigid body portion, an outer rigid bottom for closing the bottom of the body member, and a rigid top portion for closing the upper end of the body portion including a closable opening through which the material is introduced and dispensed to form a rigid hermetically sealed outer container, a bag having an open and closed end and a side wall extending between the open and closed ends positioned within the rigid outer container, the said side wall and the closed end of the bag being flexible and movable longitudinally of the outer rigid container, a substantially narrow rigid band having a substantially vertical outer wall positioned about the open end of the bag, the band being of greater rigidity than the side wall and closed end of the bag and of substantially less height than the pliable side wall portion, the outer diameter of the band being of substantially the same diameter as the inner diameter of the rigid body portion of the container and providing a close fit about the inner surface of the body portion, means for securing the vertical side of the ring to the inner surface of the vertical side of the rigid container body, a cradle positioned between the bag and the bottom of the container for supporting the closed end of the bag at a predetermined distance from the bottom of the container when the closed end is extended toward the bottom of the container.

2. An internal pressure container for dispensing materials in combination, an outer rigid body portion of greater vertical height than its diameter, and an outer rigid bottom upon which the container may be independently supported for hermetically closing the bottom of the container and a rigid top portion for hermetically closing the upper end of the body portion including a closable opening through which the material is introduced and dispensed, a bag having a side wall, an open end and a closed end, positioned within the container and movable longitudinally thereof, a substantially rigid narrow band of substantially less height than the side wall portion and forming a continuation of the bag adjacent the open end thereof, the band being of substantially the same diameter as the inside diameter of the container to provide a press fit about the inner surface of the body portion, means for hermetically sealing the ring to the container body, the bag being foldable and movable longitudinally of the container and being of such length and the ring so positioned within the container as to cause the foldable portion of the bag to extend into the top thereof when fully extended toward the top of the container and to a point above the bottom of the container when the bag is substantially fully extended toward the bottom of the container, a cradle having an upper surface formed to accommodate the shape of the closed end of the bag positioned adjacent the bottom and within the container adapted to receive the closed end of the bag when the bag is extended toward the bottom of the container for supporting the same and its contents.

3. An internal pressure container for dispensing materials comprising in combination, an outer rigid cylindrical body portion of greater vertical height than its diameter, an outer rigid bottom upon which the container may be independently supported for hermetically closing the bottom of the container and a rigid top portion for hermetically closing the upper end of the body portion including a closable opening through which the material is introduced into the container, a dispensing valve mechanism positioned in the rigid top portion for dispensing the material, a bag having a flexible side Wall, an opened and a closed end, a portion of the bag adjacent its open end being formed with a relatively narrow substantially rigid band of such diameter as to frictionally engage the 5 inner surface of the body portion of the container and means for holding the said band in a predetermined position within the container, the closed end of the bag and the portion of the side wall of the bag extending from the band being flexible and foldable about one edge of the band, the band being substantially less in height than the flexible side wall portion of the bag, the edge of the band providing a fulcrum about which the flexible portion of the bag is folded, whereby the flexible Wall and closed end portion of the bag is movable through the band and longitudinally of the container from the top thereof to a point adjacent the bottom of the container for receiving the material to be dispensed, the length of the flexible portion of the bag being substantially the same length as the distance from the end of the band to which the flexible wall is attached to the top of the container, said container being provided with a space between the bottom of the container and the closed end of the bag when the closed end of the bag is in its downward position for receiving an expandable fluid for exerting pres sure on the surface of the bag presented toward the bottom of the container for forcing the flexible portion of the bag and the material upwardly toward the top of the container for dispensing the material through the said dispensing valve mechanism.

4. An internal pressure container as claimed in claim 3 in which the body portion of the container is outwardly off-set for a distance substantially equal to that of the Width and thickness of the band for receiving the same.

5. An internal pressure container as claimed in claim 3 wherein the rigid band adjacent the open end of the bag is substantially thicker and of less heighth than the remaining portion of the said bag.

6. An internal pressure container as claimed in claim 3 wherein the body portion of the outer container body is divided into at least two sections having an adjoining portion of one adapted to be slidably receivable over the adjoining portion of the other adjacent the area occupied by the rigid band of the bag, said olT-set of the two slidable portions being such as to provide a recess of such depth and heighth as to accommodate the said band.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,924,359 Beremand Feb. 9, 1960 3,070,265 Everett Dec. 25, 1962 

1. AN INTERNAL PRESSURE CONTAINER FOR DISPENSING MATERIAL IN COMBINATION, AN OUTER VERTICAL RIGID BODY PORTION, AN OUTER RIGID BOTTOM FOR CLOSING THE BOTTOM OF THE BODY MEMBER, AND A RIGID TOP PORTION FOR CLOSING THE UPPER END OF THE BODY PORTION INCLUDING A CLOSABLE OPENING THROUGH WHICH THE MATERIAL IS INTRODUCED AND DISPENSED TO FORM A RIGID HERMETICALLY SEALED OUTER CONTAINER, A BAG HAVING AN OPEN AND CLOSED END AND A SIDE WALL EXTENDING BETWEEN THE OPEN AND CLOSED ENDS POSITIONED WITHIN THE RIGID OUTER CONTAINER, THE SAID SIDE WALL AND THE CLOSED END OF THE BAG BEING FLEXIBLE AND MOVABLE LONGITUDINALLY OF THE OUTER RIGID CONTAINER, A SUBSTANTIALLY NARROW RIGID BAND HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL OUTER WALL POSITIONED ABOUT THE OPEN END OF THE BAG, THE BAND BEING OF GREATER RIGIDITY THEN THE SIDE WALL AND CLOSED END OF THE BAG AND OF SUBSTANTIALLY LESS HEIGHT THAN THE PLIABLE SIDE WALL PORTION, 